To think cat owners are unreasonable for insisting that drivers MUST stop if they hit a cat?

[OtterlyMad]

Some of the people on my town’s Facebook page lose their minds when a cat is killed by a car. It’s automatically blamed on speeding (despite there being no evidence of this) and there are always lots of comments along the lines of how “disgusting” it is that the driver didn’t stop and make the owner aware.

None of them seem to appreciate that the driver might not have time to track down the owner. For example, perhaps they are on their way to work, a job interview, wedding, funeral, court, airport, hospital, dentist, client meeting, school pick up, etc. Plus cats can wander quite far and don’t all wear collars so tracking down the owner could be a real challenge - even more so if driver isn’t local to the area!

Obviously it’s devastating for people to lose their pet in this way (I’m an animal lover and have owned pets all my life so I get it) but surely this is a known risk of allowing cats to roam freely? And owners accept that risk because they feel it gives their cat a better quality of life, even if that means their life is shorter as a result?

My locals are now campaigning to make it law that drivers who hit a cat must not only stop and find the owner, but also HAND OVER THEIR CONTACT DETAILS. To do what with?! So the cat’s owner can give the driver grief and/or demand compensation they’re not entitled to???

Am I the only one thinking this is ludicrous?

You are being unreasonable - drivers should be required to stop, track down the owner of the cat and hand over their contact details.

You are not being unreasonable - injury/death by vehicle is a sad but accepted risk of cats having the right to roam so drivers should not be required to stop.

Don't be silly. Of course not.

I mean, there’s a difference between “not giving a shit” and not wanting to miss a flight you’ve paid hundreds of pounds for, or not wanting to miss an interview for your dream job, or not wanting to be found in contempt of court… there could be a myriad of reasons why someone can’t stop.

I don’t think it should be a legal obligation, but I do think it’s pretty cruel to hit what is clearly a pet and then just leave it to die.

If it were your pet you would hope someone would do so.

Do you have pets OP?

This is exactly the kind of batshit response the OP was talking about. Thankfully a minority view.
Cats and dogs aren't in any way the same - hence why the law differs.
I hit a cat once, I was doing about 15 mph and the thing appeared from nowhere and ran under my wheels.
I was on the way to collect DD from school.

It's horrible but the flipside of cats right to roam.

I saw a car hit a cat and drive off, they were speeding, I stopped and took the cat to the vets. Personally, I couldn’t just leave a living creature to die in pain on the road to potentially be run over again. It did have a chip and the vets were able to contact the owners to let them know, the owner even rang me to say thank you. I don’t really understand why cats are seen as so worthless compared to dogs, the cat was almost 20 years old and the family were devastated.

Isn’t the insisting you stop thing because the cat may well be alive and if quickly taken to a vet there’s a chance of survival? If so then I completely understand. To leave an injured animal in pain is incredibly cruel.

If they were definitely dead I could see how if you had a desperate need to be on your way you could drive off but it still seems callous.

If you hit anything living you should stop if safe to do so and attempt to get it some help. There’s a wildlife charity near me that has nursed animals back from awful injuries caused by cars.

If cats are enshrined into law as property so drivers must stop (dogs are, which is why you have to stop), then the consequences of that law would mean that cat owners are liable for damage their cat causes to other people's property and would be prohibited from letting them roam.

If cat owners want their cats to roam free (as seemingly most do in this country) then that means that they need to accept that within the confines of the law, they have no control over what happens to their cats. Other people can feed their cat as they please regardless of dietary issues, try to tempt them into their house, hit them with a car without reporting it, spray them with a super soaker to deter them from the garden, or any number of things which someone might wish wouldn't happen to their cat. If that's unacceptable you need to control your cat's environment by keeping them with you or on your property.

If I hit a cat, I'd take it to a vet to be scanned, but I wouldn't start knocking on doors.

Presumably the main reason to stop is to see if the cat is alive. If so yes you should do SOMETHING if at all possible even if it's taking the cat to the vet yourself.

I agree that there's a limit to which you can reasonably be expected to track down an owner, but if the cat is dead and you knock the nearest door and explain what's happened, you don't have to give your contact details but at least if the owner finds the cat, that door is the most likely that the owner will knock too - they can then explain that cat was unfortunately hit but at least the owner will know that they died instantly and weren't lying in the road suffering for a long time.

Trying to get it put into law is OTT though.

I don't have a pet. No clue where the vets is.

Google is amazing for finding things out..

I don't think it would be legally enforceable, but I would think very little of anyone who drove off, knowing they had hit an animal and left it lying there, potentially in agony and dying a slow death. Nothing you've thrown up as a justification for that is remotely adequate, OP.

@OtterlyMad most journeys we make really aren't that important though, are they. We're not always going to a funeral or interviewing for a dream job. Most journeys are entirely mundane and the world really wouldn't stop if we just pulled over to see if the cat / creature could be helped or to report it to a local vet / rescue centre.

I see your point about difficulties to locate a cat owner, but equally I don’t like the idea of leaving an animal to die a slow death. I think the driver should be required to stop and call RSPCA to report that there’s a suffering animal.

I would immediately contact RSPCA or a local vet to say I found an injured cat. Even if I didn't want to admit it was me that hit it. I'd do that if I hit a wild animal also.
There's a chance it could be saved.
I don't think adding extra laws into the mix is going to work, but morally to just drive off and leave it there is pretty disgraceful.

I am a cat owner.

if people let their cats roam and the cat ends up killed, it is their problem to go search for the cat. Barring a rare circumstance of intentional cat murder, the owner alone is responsible for the cat’s death.

Cats are really fast, it’s pretty easy not to run one over on residential streets where you should only be doing 20 or 30.

I hit a cat at 50mph at 9pm pitch black.

I wasn't speeding and there was nowhere safe to pull over.

These posts on facebook and the like always wind me up as like you say there is always the assumption that you're speeding or heartless.

I would have no idea where the nearest vet was, I was just passing through the town on my way home and didn't fancy stopping on a busy single carriageway with no hard shoulder in the pitch back on my own.

Yes it is sad, but that's a risk in owning a cat.

Who would not want to stop if they've hit a cat and check if they are alive and at least try to drop them at a vet if so.

I couldn't imagine hitting any animal and not stopping if at all possible. Even if you can't immediately stop, you can find somewhere to stop and turn round.

If I genuinely couldn't stop because there was some life or death unmissable time sensitive vital thing that didn't allow me any delay, I don't think I'd be able to get the animal out of my mind. Surely you'd just feel horrendously guilty and worrying you'd left them in agony.

Agreed. The motorway near me is a smart motorway so no hard shoulder. There is no way I'm stopping on it unless I have literally no choice - it's so dangerous. There's a new build housing estate that backs on to it and anyone who lives there with a cat should probably keep it inside.

I killed a cat on the day I passed my driving test. It just ran under the wheels and I couldn't avoid it. I drove on for a few hundred yards because I was in shock and then turned round and went back. I got mouthfuls of abuse from a few people standing looking at it. It was deeply upsetting. I have lost two cats to the road but sometimes they do just run out. I think if you're in a position to stop and move it off the road and check for a collar then you should. Or take it to a vet to be scanned. However this really isn't always possible as tragic as it is.

I have cats. You can't have it both ways - either you take no responsibility for what your cat gets up to when roaming (pooing in others gardens, killing wildlife, running out into the road) and drivers have to report, or you have responsibility for controlling your cat (eg. not letting it roam) and drivers have to report.

Until you can persuade all cat owners to have indoor cats (good luck, my cats like getting out and about - which is one of the reasons I live in the middle of nowhere) there's no way to enforce drivers having to report.

That's what I was thinking. I'd definitely care, but I wouldn't stop in all circumstances.

That reads as a reply yo you, Caput. It wasn't. When I was typing it, your post was not there. We're only separated by a minute.

But sometimes animals jump out at you. I was driving at under 30 mph at night and a load of rabbits ran out into the road in front of me a few years ago. I couldn't slow down in time, and swerving wouldn't have helped as the poor things were suddenly everywhere. If an animal jumps right in front of you, going at 20 won't make your car disappear.